Friday, October 4, 2013

"Arsenal are better off spending 42m on Özil than other clubs spending 100m+ on six players who aren’t world-class"

As a former Director of Football with Tottenham and Liverpool, Damien Comolli is well-placed to discuss the summer transfer window and provide some analysis as to how various top-flight teams did. Speaking with him recently, we touched on the strategies deployed by the sides destined to challenge reigning champions Manchester United for the Premier League title.

On ex-club Liverpool’s
signings:

“I think they’ve done some good
business. I think they made a big decision signing Simon Mignolet especially
when Pepe Reina was still there. They probably looked at data and stats and
thought that if they got Mignolet, even if Reina was to head out on loan and
they’d have to pay part of his wages, they could be better off. I don’t think
people talk enough about Mignolet – I think he’s a big, big signing for them.

What I find a little strange is
the Mamadou Sakho deal. PSG said they got €19m + €3m in
add-ons and he had only one year left on his contract. That’s a lot of money,
especially as he wasn’t playing. Carlo Ancelotti didn’t play him and Laurent
Blanc didn’t play him either. The other aspect is they’ve now bought a player
who will compete with Daniel Agger. They don’t need cover at left-back either
because they’ve signed Sissokho and they have Enrique so for me, it’s a strange
signing. If they’re thinking about long-term, they’ll have to deal with a
situation where Sakho won’t be happy. He left PSG because he wasn’t playing
enough and he wants to play for France in the World Cup, provided we qualify.
And if he doesn’t play, Liverpool will have an issue on their hands.”

On MamadouSakho
possibly being signed as a safety measure should Daniel Agger leave:

“Maybe. But I know how much
Agger loves Liverpool. And he’s not the type to request a transfer so unless
they push him out, I don’t think he’ll want to leave in the near future. That’s
why the situation with Sakho might become an issue. For me, Daniel is the best
left-footed central defender in the world so if you spend 19m euro on a player
who’s got one year left on his contract and he has to compete with the best
player in the world in that position, it’s going to be a challenge.”

AUDIO

LISTEN...to Damien's account of what deadline-day is like for a club executive here - and the important role pizza has in a frenzied 24 hours!

On Arsenal’s capture of Mesut Özil:

“Even though they couldn’t do
what they wanted in terms of a striker, they didn’t move from the fact that
they would only spend money on a world-class player. And that’s
why, in the end, they went for Özil. I think they’re better off spending 42m on Özil than other clubs spending 100m+ on six players who aren’t world-class.
They’ve added incredible creativity, imagination and skills to an already very
creative and skillful team. So it can only be very positive.”

On other Premier League teams
reportedly turning down the chance to sign Özil:

“Very often, at the end of the
transfer window, the clubs that lost out will say ‘We weren’t interested’ or
‘We couldn’t afford his wages’ or ‘We thought the price was too much’ but
what’s being said internally is not being said externally. I don’t think Özil
was shopped around because if Madrid didn’t get Bale, there was no way they
would have allowed him to go. Once they got Bale, something had to give.
Whether it was Benzema, di Maria, Özil – someone had to be a loser from a
Madrid perspective.”

On Spurs’ spending spree:

“I’m convinced they have a
better squad than last year, whether they have a better team than last year
remains to be seen. In the last 2/3 years, they’ve lost their three most
creative players in Van der Vaart, Bale and Modric. Have they replaced those
three extremely creative players? Last season, I never felt that was the case.
This season, I think Lamela and Eriksen will bring the creativity that Spurs had lost previously and
those two were ‘must-have’ players for the club. But they’re young and we must
wait to see how they will develop and adapt to the Premier League. All of
the other players, as far as I’m concerned, are at the same level as those that
Spurs have had before.”

On Manchester City’s transfer
activity:

“Fernandinho is a player we’ve
all been looking at and has always impressed, even before his injury. He broke
his leg a couple of years ago and we were at the match watching him, when I was
at Liverpool. He had an incredible game. He’s a very good player. For the first
few games, he didn’t show 20% of what he can do so I’m sure there’s a lot more
to come from him. Negredo is a top player who I really like. Jovetic is another
top player with plenty of room for improvement. And Navas, for the first few
games I think was their best player. They’ve got a very, very good manager and
with Begiristainthere, Pellegrini will be able to adapt
quickly – he can help him settle into the club. I’m a big admirer of Pellegrini
because all of his teams are very positive in their approach to the game, very
attacking. People should remember that he qualified Malaga for the Champions
League playing Jeremy Toulalan and Santi Cazorla in midfield. Toulalan is a
very good defensive midfielder but playing Cazorla at midfield takes incredible
bravery for a manager. I think they have the right setup with Begiristain and
Soriano and the experience they both have from Barcelona.”

On
Chelsea’s investments:

“Their big issue is up front. They didn't get the player
they wanted and who could have made a massive difference so they went to plan
B. But Eto’o will need a few months before getting back to where he was.
Obviously, Mourinho wasn't comfortable with any of the other strikers but over
the long term it could go against them.

It also shows the football landscape has changed so much.
When was the last time Chelsea didn't get the player they wanted? They didn't
get Cavani or Rooney.

Going forward, the competition for the few world-class
players available every year will be ferocious.”

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About Me

Eoin has over seven years experience working at the highest level of sports broadcasting in both Europe and North America.
In the USA and Canada, he's best-known as a former host of Fox Soccer's nightly studio show Fox Soccer Report while he spent three years with Ireland's national broadcaster RTE.
He's covered world soccer in-depth since starting out as a TV sport researcher and has worked on a multitude of tournaments including FIFA World Cups and UEFA Champions Leagues.
The very first game he attended was Cork City's pre-season friendly against Celtic in July 1994.
City lost 3-2.